Welcome to the Land of Pie Plates and Spoke-mounted Reflectors.

Main menu

Eric H’s Ted Williams Free Spirit

Here to greet us this morning is another OTS from the stable of Eric H. This our second (or maybe third)Sears Ted Williams Free Spirit, or a Theodore Billy for short.

Hi Cameron.

Attached are pix of my mid-1970’s Sears Roebuck Ted Williams Free Spirit 10-speed. Back from the days when we named bikes after baseball legends and USMC fighter pilots.

This is a Goodwill purchase that needed only new rubber in back, lubrication, and a new rear brake cable to be brought up to operational status.

Riding it, the feel is steady and solid, but you can get up to some nice speeds as well. Sort of like a Schwinn Varsity and almost as heavy. Wheels in excellent condition, not even needing to be trued. Looks like this beast got very little use back in the day, which is typical of these bike boom machines, and is now ready to take a new rider onward to his dreams.

Yeah, that style of drop is actually one of the things that gives this bike a sense of personality.

Dennis

That is a great find-before it finds a new rider
would it have a 73 or 74 in the 14 digit serial number–like 50217425 854158.

http://www.facebook.com/mike.pinter Mike Pinter

Thank you for that! Waddaya know, the bike is older than me! It has a 74 in the serial number.

http://www.facebook.com/mike.pinter Mike Pinter

I have that very bike myself! The paint is kind of mother-of-pearl or opal. Softly glittery. It first belonged to my uncle and then to my older brother. I wish it looked as pristine as yours does!

I had to change the pedals some years ago because one fell apart. The serrated lengthwise parts where the reflectors were heat rivetted on came apart one day and we couldn’t re-constitute them. They were held together by a sort of tongue fitted into a groove on the ball-bearinged pieces and twisted to rivet.

Currently it is laid up because I have to source a new rear cogwheel and have been lax about it. I’d love to repaint it and put it in the kind of shape yours is. Any way of getting original stickers for it?

akrds00

This is an awesome pic! I’m actually working on this very model myself now…Just finished stripping off a bad paint job and I’m going to start painting tomorrow. I think I’ll turn it into a purple & gold track bike (local school colours) but will probably paint it metallic grey as an in between color so I can monitor the worn/damaged spots for rust and finish up the works!
Those tires are awesome though!!
Do you remember what kind they are?